Cierra was born with a congenital heart defect and underwent open heart surgery when she was 2 months old. During recovery Cierra went into respiratory failure and required resuscitation. Cierra was without oxygen for an unknown amount of time and as a result has been diagnosed with developmental delay. When Cierra was 12 we motive an abnormal posture and she complained about back pain all the time. Cierra was diagnosed with a 67 curvature of her thoracic spine and underwent surgery to have rods placed to correct her spinal curvature. During the surgery Cierra lost all motor sensation in her legs. The surgeon was hopeful after 6 months everything would return and Cierra would walk again, unfortunately that was not the case. Cierra was diagnosed with a T4 SCI with paralysis from the chest down
Anyone who knows or has met Cierra with tell you she is a very happy go lucky teenager who has never let her health affect her happiness. Cierra’s endurance is poor due to her heart condition and with lack of exercise she is not able to use a manual arm bike independently on her own. Cierra would love to be able to attack a hand bike to her WC vs transfer because she could attach the hand bike on her own and no require assistance from someone else thus increasing her independence. Plus, the power assist hand-bike would provide Cierra with extra assistance of getting up inclines and going longer distance while increasing her socialization outside of school.
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